Google has waited until the day its new Googlebook laptops hit the market to admit that Intel-based models may have issues running some Android apps.
The vast majority of Android apps run smoothly across both Intel and Qualcomm Googlebooks right out of the box. Because many Android apps were originally designed for Arm chips, a small handful of complex apps or games need some developer tuning to run their best on Intel-based platforms. We’re working hand-in-hand with app developers, Intel, and Qualcomm to continuously optimize performance and expand compatibility across the entire portfolio.
Google hasn’t said how many apps will have performance issues, or named any specific apps that may have problems.
Of the five Googlebook laptops that have gone on sale today, three — models from Acer, Asus, and Lenovo — run on x86 Intel chips. The Dell and HP models instead run on Qualcomm’s Arm-based Snapdragon processors, and so should have greater compatibility with every Android app. We’ll be testing all five Googlebooks across the Verge team, and will report back on specific issues we find.